#-it'll only work with photo evidence so to speak because it's about specific facial expressions of his

[littleoddwriter]

Cooper Abbott (Trap, 2024) as a Firefighter | Mini-Analysis

Hi there and welcome back to me analysing the character Cooper Abbott (portrayed by Josh Hartnett) in the movie Trap (written, produced and directed by M. Night Shyamalan)! This one is a mini-analysis and interpretation of a particular aspect of his character, based on one short scene and things we've been told and given glimpses of during the movie: Cooper working as a firefighter. It's also mostly speculation after because I like to think further, of course. I'd be happy to know what others think about this aspect of him, so if this were to spark a conversation, that'd be great! :') <3 And for anyone, who might be interested, here is the more in-depth character analysis of Cooper that I wrote.

As we get to know Cooper Abbott in the beginning of the movie, one particular detail we're told about him is that he's a firefighter.

He tells Jamie, the vendor of the merch stand at the Lady Raven concert, that he works in the fire department, which allows him to garner trust from Jamie, who now sees him as 'one of the good guys' that he can tell details about the concert's function as a trap for Cooper's serial killer persona "the Butcher". Toward the end of the movie, when Dr. Grant - the FBI profiler - explains her psychological profile of Cooper to Rachel, his wife, we catch a glimpse of a photo of Cooper and some of his colleagues at the fire station advertising the firemen calendar. While Cooper talks to Lady Raven in her limousine, he also tells her that the houses he keeps his victims in, and also plans in, are vacant due to fire code violations, suggesting that he uses the resources he's given as a firefighter to help with his murders, like knowing which houses will be empty for longer periods of time. And during Cooper and Rachel's confrontation afterwards, she specifically mentions that the smell of cleaning fluid on him furthered her suspicions of his serial killing, because it's not the kind he would use at the station, but rather what she associates with hospitals.

Those are the things we are told and shown about Cooper when it comes to his work as a firefighter. But there is one scene about halfway through the movie, where we actually witness him working as a first aider.

In an attempt to avoid being seen by Dr. Grant when Cooper is backstage at the concert, he helps a teenage girl, who was about to collapse on the stairs behind the stage. He catches her when she's starting to fall over, lifts her up and carries her, and then asks a staff member where he should put her. Inside the medical tent, he sits her down on a chair and soothingly talks to her, while treating her for her possible low blood sugar and dehydration. He tells her that he'll get her some juice, while putting a cooling pack on the back of her neck, and that she'll feel a lot better within the next half hour. Even one of the medical staff members in the tent was impressed with his work, more or less jokingly asking to keep him because of how good he is with the patients.

This scene shows how natural his work is to him. Cooper is incredibly skilled and quick, just as he is when he's thinking of ways to cause distractions and find a way out of the venue for himself. He's focused and has a great way of making the other person feel safe and like they're in good hands with him with the way he's speaking in a low, soothing voice, and stays on a figurative, and even literal, eye level with them when he does. In short, Cooper seems to be in his element when he's helping the teenager. It also shows very clearly that he's been doing this for many years because of how natural his movements and words are for him.

Having been shown how he would be on the job, essentially, also raises the question why he chose to be a firefighter in the first place.

Personally, I think that he became a firefighter because it's a job that is thrilling and never the same, but with a certain degree of control he has over everything that happens; even if some situations can be rather unpredictable. He still decides the course of action (depending on his position within the department) and, to an extent, what happens to the people he's helping. This job allows him to be close to injury and death without being the initial cause. Whether or not he abuses his power to play around with what humans could potentially survive or not is up to debate. I think it's safe to say, though, that it taught him a lot of useful things for his future murders, while giving him a way to have several safe houses without anybody knowing, and without having to spend any money on them and therefore leaving no traces of his presence. It might have also allowed him to gain access to tools he uses, or at least know where to get them, what he can use, and how, without raising suspicions. This is especially evident when Cooper tells Lady Raven about the lethal effects of carbon monoxide on a person in a small and closed space, stating that "you need to know about these sorts of things as a firefighter", as he explains to her that he'll use it to easily kill Spencer, his current victim, if she refuses to help him out of the venue or signals the FBI. If his only reason to be a firefighter had been power, control, and being close to injury/death and danger, he could have just become a police officer, which could have even allowed him to manipulate what the police knows about his murders. But since he's a firefighter, there are more ways to interpret and speculate why he chose that profession.

On that note, I also want to add that another possible reason for his decision to be a fireman could be his upbringing and the abuse he experienced at the hand of his mother. This could go two ways; although they don't negate one another. One being that he wanted to actually help people out of situations where they are in danger and feel helpless because he never had a helping hand when he needed it most in his youth. Therefore, he would be using it as a kind of coping mechanism for his trauma. The other being that he uses this job to counteract "the monster", as his dark side has been dubbed by his mother and later himself. It is possible that he initially tried to be better and do something useful - something good - to prove his mother, and by extension himself, wrong about his being a monster. Both are potential explanations for his choice that can be true at the same time.

So far, those have been my thoughts about Cooper being a firefighter and why that's the chosen profession for him. Of course, there's also the simple reason that it's one of the best covers for him because people wouldn't immediately suspect a fireman to be a serial killer. But since Cooper has most definitely been a firefighter for much longer than he's been a murderer (presumably, at least), I also think that it's reasonable to consider different explanations for this choice.